Solutions that don’t break the bank, reinvent the wheel or marginalize our teachers are within our grasp. We could have rigorous classes, safe and disciplined schools and treat teachers like valued colleagues rather than easily replaceable cogs, and we could do so tomorrow if we wanted. Disclaimer, this is an opinion and commentary site and should not be confused as a news site. Also know that quite often people may disagree with the opinions posted.

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Wednesday, June 17, 2015

First Coast high school has become the wild west under Brennan

Below is from a Facebook post. I asked for permission to repost it here and was told yes but to please delete the names because of fear of retaliation against the victims involved. Think about that, the parent of a victim is afraid they will be retaliated against.

On May 12, about 15 minutes after school got out, my kids called me, frightened and upset. They said two football players in a black Audi had driven through the parking lot shooting people and vehicles with a high powered BB or pellet gun. The shooters made no attempt to conceal their identity. They had actually aimed for my daughter and she jumped out of the way to avoid being hit. Two of my children's friends were hit in the leg. Several vehicles were damaged. I asked what the school was doing. The kids said the police were out there, but they didn't see any adults from the school out there. I called the front office and was told that nothing had happened on campus. It must have been an off campus incident. I advised them that the police were outside right that minute so maybe they should go out and talk to them. I asked to have Dr. Brennan or someone in authority call me. No one did.

Channel 4 news came to the school that afternoon. They were told to leave and nothing about the incident appeared on the news.

There was no phone call from the school. I called the district office. No one there was aware of an incident. They said the school had not reported it to the district.

My children were nervous about returning to school the following day, but we all thought that surely the shooters would have been arrested or at least suspended.

The kids arrived at school, and the black Audi was in the parking lot. My son went over and asked the SRO in the parking lot what was being done, if it was safe. The SRO told him to shut up and walk away before he embarrassed himself.

That morning I called the front office at FCHS again. I was once again told that nothing had happened on campus. I told them I had pictures to prove it did. They put Mr. Fluent, who is the dean of discipline on the phone. He told me that he had tried to call me the previous day, but I did not have a missed call or voice mail. He said that the front office was not aware of the incident, but that the administration was. He said there was an investigation going on, and that JSO would be there that day to interview the witnesses and determine if criminal charges should be filed. I told him that my children were witnesses.

No one has ever interviewed my children to this day. Most of the other students who were witnesses told my kids no one interviewed them either.

I have emailed and left phone messages for both Dr. Brennan and Mr. Fluent multiple times since then. Neither of them has ever contacted me again. I have not gone over there in person, because as I stated on another thread, I had previously gone to the school to try to speak to Dr. Brennan about another issue. I waited for more than two hours, and he refused to speak with me.

Another parent went to the school and spoke with Mr. Fluent. He told her that it was an isolated incident, and that the students involved had been expelled.

My son had classes with one of the shooters. He said the boy never missed a day of school.

Like the parent I am beside myself that behavior like this and parents with concerns can go ignored. It's despicable but that's the culture Brennan created and that the district has allowed to continue.

5 comments:

That student parking lot is the most vulnerable area for safety. Anything could be in any car. One shot, everyone scatters, everybody runs (or drives away), including the shooter, and all you have left is a victim. If any parking lot camera is not working, that needs to be fixed the same day. There also needs to be more cameras in the common areas. If it weren't for these idiots on YouTube who think it's funny, there would be often be no physical evidence.

And how about cameras in the classrooms? I am sure teachers would welcome them as long as the administration would act upon the evidence. Teachers 95% of the tome would not lose it, if the students did not get away with their behavior 99.9% of the time, and the teachers that do lose it for no reason will have no defense.

If body cams are reasonable technology for police, should not our classrooms benefit from the same technology